How Hasbro Earnings Fell Flat

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 5:36AM EST · Published Jul 18, 11:15AM EDT

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How Hasbro Earnings Fell Flat — © Thinkstock

Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) reported its second-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Monday. The company had a strong start to 2016. Although revenues posted a solid gain and earnings as well, the reaction from investors did reflect this win.

The company said that it had $0.41 in earnings per share (EPS) on $878.9 million in revenue. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters had called for $0.39 in EPS on revenue of $858.97 million. And in the same period of last year, the toymaker posted EPS of $0.33 and $797.66 million in revenue.

During this quarter, Hasbro paid $63.9 million in cash dividends to shareholders. The next quarterly cash dividend payment of $0.51 per common share is scheduled for August 15, to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 1.

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Also the company repurchased 270,611 shares of common stock at a total cost of $21.9 million and an average price of $81 per share. Through the first two quarters, the company repurchased 745,611 shares of common stock at a total cost of $57.8 million.

In terms of the business segments, Hasbro reported:

Boys category revenues increased 4% to $355.1 million. Revenue growth in the quarter was driven by gains in Franchise Brand NERF, along with Partner Brand STAR WARS as well as the addition of YOKAI WATCH.
Games category revenues for the quarter increased 8% to $227.7 million. PIE FACE, DUEL MASTERS, YAHTZEE, SIMON and BOP-IT were among the brands contributing to growth in the quarter.
Girls category revenues increased 35% to $172.3 million. Hasbro’s line of DISNEY PRINCESS and DISNEY’S FROZEN fashion and small dolls along with revenue growth in BABY ALIVE led the increase in the quarter.
Preschool category revenues increased 5% to $123.9 million. Revenue growth in Franchise Brand PLAY-DOH drove the revenue increase for the quarter.

Brian Goldner, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Hasbro, commented on earnings:

Hasbro’s focus on building brands, telling great stories, and creating the best play experiences in toys, games, digital gaming and consumer products is driving strong consumer and retailer demand for our brands globally. The excellent execution of our team continues to deliver revenue and earnings growth, while we are investing in elevating our talent and capabilities around our Brand Blueprint. Our initiatives for the second half of the year feature innovative offerings for Hasbro Franchise Brands and Partner Brands, including newly announced products such as FURBY CONNECT and SPEAK OUT, and support for upcoming major feature films, Lucasfilm’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and DreamWorks’ Trolls.

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On the books, Hasbro cash and cash equivalents totaled $924.1 million at the end of the quarter, versus $858.5 million in the same period from last year.

Shares of Hasbro were trading down more than 6% at $79.91 Monday morning, with a consensus analyst price target of $88.22 and a 52-week trading range of $60.38 to $88.53.

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.